Best digital-led campaign 2016

Financial services group Legal & General wanted to build a deeper relationship with the ‘financially unconfident’. But it was aware that trust in insurers was falling while 87 per cent of Internet searches are for guidance about money rather than specific products, such as pensions or life insurance. Indeed, its own research showed that two in three people never ask for help with finance; one in ten of whom say it is because they are embarrassed, lack confidence in the subject or simply do not know where to turn.

Working with established brand Rough Guides, Legal & General produced The Rough Guide to Personal Finances, a series of five free eBooks written by independent experts on subjects ranging from family finance to retirement. These were hosted on a special microsite.

Headland launched an integrated campaign, encompassing paid, owned and shared media, to encourage consumers to download the books. It shared extracts from the books on Legal & General’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages, a quiz for people to test their financial IQ and competitions that required visitors to read the books. Videos of case studies that brought the advice to life were also filmed and uploaded.

The books were uploaded onto eBook stores, including Amazon where the first one went to number two in the personal finance chart, and a dedicated hub was developed on the Mail Online, entitled This is how money works, with content from each book. Sponsored posts on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube also targeted the financially unconfident.

Three media stories were created around the eBooks’ content, including ‘What things Brits won’t give up to save money’, ‘How much kids influence the family finances’ and ‘Money saving rhymes’, a video recorded by spoken word artist Mark Grist. Each received print or broadcast coverage.

Legal & General also hosted a Twitter party with BritMums around property, which reached 11 million people. It also worked with bloggers, helping them create content based on the advice in the eBooks to teach their children about budgeting. A partner pack was also sent to more than 50 organisations, including Money Advice Service, Reed and Rightmove, which led to the campaign being more widely promoted.

The campaign led to a six percentage point lift in brand awareness for Legal & General, plus a 36 per cent increase in intention to purchase. The eBooks were downloaded in excess of 6,000 times while the Mail Online hub achieved 4.5 million impressions. The microsite, which hosted the books, received 53,000 visitors.

The judges were impressed with the results, adding: ‘It was a great idea to partner with a trusted third party. This was a very comprehensive campaign.’